Becoming the planet's most (in)famous human has not changed Brooklyn Lamontagne one bit, but the time has come for him to choose where his allegiances really lie.
The United Nations is working to get everyone off Earth by the deadline – set by the planet’s true owners, the aliens known as the First. It’s a task made somewhat easier by a mysterious virus that rendered at least fifty percent of humanity unable to have children. Meanwhile, the USA and the USSR have set their sights on Mars, claiming half a planet each.
Brooklyn Lamontagne doesn’t remember saving the world eight years ago, but he’s been paying for it ever since. The conquered Earth governments don’t trust him, the Average Joe can’t make up their mind, but they all agree that Brooklyn should stay in space. Now, he’s just about covering his bills with junk-food runs to Venus and transporting horny honeymooners to Tycho aboard his aging spaceship, the Victory.
When a pal asks for a ride to Mars, Brooklyn lands in a solar system’s worth of espionage, backroom alliances, ancient treasures and secret plots while encountering a navigation system that just wants to be loved…
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Folks who liked the first book said:
"Greene remixes sci-fi conventions into a wild, satisfying adventure in a nearly picaresque vein…Readers willing to roll with the punches will delight in following Greene’s winding path."
– Publishers Weekly
"Greene's world is immersive, compelling, and fun. Brooklyn's saga takes us from a dank New York City jail cell to bone-dry Texas, the rim of a still-smoking crater, the Arctic circle, a Vegas-like city on the moon, and beyond. And, like Brooklyn, I could only hang on for dear life and enjoy the ride. As with all good alternate history, it entertains while shining a light on issues that bedevil this world, and makes you think about the missed opportunities in our own timeline.”
– B.L. Blanchard, author of The Peacekeeper
"With a deft weaving of rock ‘n roll, denim suits, AMC Pacers and nuclear-powered spaceships, Greene effortlessly recreates a 1970s America that could have been. This thoroughly plausible alternate history in which asteroid-slinging aliens threaten a spacefaring human race is narrated by Greene’s unlikely hero, Brooklyn Lamontagne. Seemingly a brash young ne-er-do well, Brooklyn is redeemed by his love for his mother and his loyalty to his friends and you can’t help but root for him as he navigates a rocky path from the cold streets of NYC to the moon and beyond. As the stakes intensify and the mystery around earth’s implacable enemy deepens, the story becomes a ride as fast as an Oppenheimer-powered rocket and you won’t want it to stop. Can’t wait to see what comes next!"
– Sarah J. Daley, author of Obsidian
"The action in Mercury Rising is compelling from the first chapter. Greene’s skill at creating an alternate space-faring America in the mid-1970’s is studded with the perfect amount of pop culture references, and his many-layered Everyman, Brooklyn Lamontagne, feels like a long-lost best friend. All this combines to lock you in for a thrilling story that’s impossible to put down."
– Ginger Smith, author of The Rush's Edge
"Mercury Rising charmed and fascinated me. Greene has taken an absolutely wild premise and somehow made it fit like a puzzle piece into our own history and knowledge of the greater universe. It is unexpected and clever, heartfelt and funny, with big, conceptual penny-drop moments that hit the reader as hard as they hit the novel's weary protagonist, Brooklyn Lamontagne."
– Chris Panatier, author of Stringers and The Phlebotomist
"Surprising, engaging, and with plenty of smart nods to society’s bullshit, Mercury Rising is a slice of alternative history that reads like science-fiction Stephen King. A joy."
– Dan Hanks, author of Swashbucklers